The Greater Tragedy
by Cardinal001
Summary: Which is the greater tragedy? Not knowing what one is doing or knowing exactly what one is doing and not having a choice? 0080 fic first fanfic


FANFICTION BASED ON GUNDAM 0080: WAR IN THE POCKET. ALL NAMES (BAR ONE) OWNED BY BANDAI. OTHER NAME OWNED BY FASA/FANPRO.

**The Greater Tragedy**

Bernie took one last look at Chris's house then drove away. About halfway down the road he stopped.

-_I'd better tell her now. I may not be able to do so tomorrow._-

As he approached the house he could hear Chris celebrating with her parents. He realised that what he had to say would be hard for her, as it would be for him, but he needed to say it.

Chris's father answered the door.

"Bernie! This is a surprise! Would you like to come in?"

"Thanks but I really can't stop. I'd like to speak to Chris if I may."

"Sure. Hang on a minute."

Mr Mackenzie disappeared and moments later Chris came to the door.

"Bernie, hi! What's up?"

"Could we talk alone for a sec?" Bernie replied.

Immediately sensing that something was amiss, Chris closed the door. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's time I came clean." Bernie started. "I'm not a reservist working here. I'm, or at least I was, part of a team sent here to destroy the Gundam." he stopped to take a breath.

Chris was visibly shocked. "What are you... why are you telling me this?"

Bernie took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy.

"Because I know you're the Gundam pilot. Because if I don't the Zeons will destroy this colony with nuclear missiles. And because I love you."

That caught Chris completely by surprise. Bernie carried on though. Having started, he had to finish. "I know you'll have to stop me. And that's ok, I understand. We're on opposite sides and at war. I felt I had to tell you while I still had the chance."

Chris was still recovering. "Bernie..."

"I'd better go." said Bernie. "I expect I'll see you tomorrow." He turned and started to walk back to his car.

"Bernie, wait." Chris ran to him and caught hold of his arm. He turned to her. "Are you serious?" she said.

"Yep. I have to destroy the Gundam, no matter what it takes."

"No, not that, do you really love me?" she asked, looking up at him, her eyes starting to fill with tears.

"Chris, i do." he said. Chris started to cry. Bernie put his arms around her and held her close to him. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her head.

"No matter what happens. I love you." he whispered. He then kissed her fiercely. After a moment she returned it just as fiercely. They separated, allbeit reluctantly, and he looked her in her eyes.

"Tomorrow you're a Fed pilot, and I'm a Zeon pilot. Do your duty. I'll try to do mine." with that he turned and walked away, back to his car. Chris was left on the doorstep, her feelings for him conflicting with her duty as an officer.

Bernie started his car and took one last look at Chris. He was sure it would be the last time he would see her in the flesh. He turned his eyes to the road and drove away.

-

THE NEXT DAY

-

Chris's Gundam Alex had just been tackled by the Zaku and both of them had slid all the way to the nearby hospital. Chris stood the Alex up and watched as the Zaku also rose. She thought back to just half an hour earlier when she had gotten the call.

"Lt Mackenzie, report to the hangar. We're under attack!"

As Chris made her way to the hangar, she prayed that it wasn't what she feared it was, but deep down she knew what was happening.

"We have one lone Zaku, on an inward vector! Lt Mackenzie, protect the base!"

Chris launched the Gundam. As she headed for the Zaku, Bernie's words from the previous night kept on running through her head:

--_You're a Fed pilot-_

_-I'm a Zeon pilot-_

_-Do your duty-_

_-I love you_

Chris snapped herself back to the battle. The Zaku - better to think of it as an enemy mobile suit rather than someone very dear to her - was getting ready to power up it's heat hawk. She half-noticed that the Zaku was moving as though it were having difficulty. Probably due to the rough ride it had just had. Chris readied her beam sabre and waited.

After a few seconds both suits charged at each other, the Zaku raising its axe. Chris briefly considered radioing Bernie but realised he would have turned his off so as not to cause her any distractions. As the Zaku brought its axe round to strike off the head of the Alex, Chris saw that the chest of the Zaku was unprotected. Behind it was the cockpit of the enemy machine.

-_Do your duty_-

Chris looked around, trying to find another way, but her gundam was already heavily damaged. This was her only chance.

_-Do your duty_-

The axe had nearly connected with the Gundam's head. She only had a few seconds left.

_-Do your duty-_

_-I love you-_

"BERNIE, I'M SORRY!" she screamed as she plunged the beam sabre through the Zaku's chest. Too late, as the axe completed its swing and severed the head of the Alex. Chris felt herself falling backwards. As the body of the Gundam hit the ground Chris was thrown forward and hit her head on the forward screen. The last thing she saw before the screen went blank and she lost consciousness was Bernie's Zaku explode.

_-Bernie, I'm sorry_-

_-Please forgive me_-

-_I love you too_-

-

THE FOLLOWING MORNING

-

As Chris walked with her suitcases to the car, she saw her next door neighbour Al on his way to school. She knew he had been close to Bernie but she was sure that he didn't know who Bernie actually was.

"Hey Al"

"Chris?"

"I'm glad I got to say goodbye to you. I've been transferred back to Earth, so I probably won't see you for a long time. Say goodbye to Bernie for me will you?" She hated herself for lying to Al like this but it was better that he didn't know.

Al looked down for a moment. "Bernie... He'll be sorry he missed you." He looked up at Chris and Chris saw that he was barely holding back a flood of tears.

-_He knows_-

"Goodbye Al" was all she said, feeling very close to tears herself. She put the rest of her luggage into the car and drove to the spaceport.

As the shuttle left the colony she looked back at it. It looked so peaceful floating in space, as if nothing at all had happened. Then she couldn't bear it any longer and burst into tears, hating herself for what she had done.

"Excuse me miss, is this seat taken?" a voice asked. She mumbled that it wasn't and continued crying. She felt an arm round here shoulders and she looked at the person sat next to her. His right sleeve dangled loosely, indicating that there was no arm under it. There were a couple of scars on his forehead, his hair was dark brown and he was wearing sunglasses but...

"Bernie?" she asked, hardly daring to believe it.

He grinned. "Yes, and no. Bernard Wiseman died in the Zaku. I'm Frederick Steiner."

She wrapped her arms around him "You'll always be Bernie to me. I'm so glad you're alive! But how?"

Bernie took off his glasses. "Remember when we went for that ride?"

Bernie struggled to hold on as his Zaku and the Gundam slid out of control through the forest. He saw they were heading for a hospital complex. Eventually they slid to a halt but his suit stopped so suddenly the seat he was sat in broke free of its housing and fell backwards. Bernie landed flat on his back, still in the restraints.

-_I thought Al was supposed to have secured this!-_

He freed himself from the restraints and dragged himself up to a position where he could see out of the screens. The Gundam had stopped some distance away and was getting back to its feet. With some difficulty Bernie did likewise, uncomfortable though he was in his new position. According to the readouts he had somehow managed to retain his axe. He realised his only option now was to decapitate the Gundam, slim as it sounded. He powered up the axe and started to move to the Gundam.

He saw the beam sabre activate but did not stop his advance

-_Come on Chris. You have to stop me. It's your duty to stop me-_

When he was close enough to the Gundam he swung his axe at his head. He saw the beam sabre coming at his cockpit and leaned back as much as he could, still keeping his right hand on the control for the arm.

Just as he felt the axe connect with its target he saw the sabre drill straight through his cockpit, straight through where his head would be if his seat was upright. The blade was mere inches above him. He felt an excruciating pain in his right arm then nothing. The beam retracted. Trying not to move too much, he looked at his arm, or at least at the stump where his arm used to be. The sabre had taken his arm off and cauterized the wound.

"What happened after that?" Chris asked.

"Well the force of the explosion was mainly outwards, although I did get bumped around a bit." Bernie grinned. "I didn't think you would have been that rough on a first date."

Chris giggled, then laughed, all the tension draining away. Eventually she ran out of breath and calmed down.

"So after that you managed to escape?"

"Yeah. I was going to see if you were ok but then the army showed up. I got myself done up, got a couple of new IDs and decided to leave the colony. It was sheer luck that I saw you board this shuttle."

Chris snuggled up against his shoulder. "I take it nothing's changed?"

"Well you're still as girly as ever... "

Chris punched him playfully "You know what I mean!"

Bernie kissed her forehead. "I still love you. Even when I was looking at your sabre in front of my face I loved you."

Chris kissed him on the cheek "I love you too."

They kissed each other just as the sun's light reflected off the colony, creating a halo of light.

-

SIX MONTHS LATER

-

Al had not heard from Chris for a while now. Last he had heard she was settling on Earth and had even met somebody named Frederick something-or-other.

-_Why couldn't Bernie have lived?_-

Al had asked himself that many times and still had not come up with an answer. Dorothy had been surprisingly supportive over the last few months and in spite of himself Al was starting to like her. Then the previous week his mother had heard that Chris was returning to the colony. It seemed that she had gotten married and her new husband would be coming with her. They were supposed to be arriving anytime today.

The doorbell rang and Al went to answer it. On the doorstep stood Chris and her husband who was wearing. Al started to introduce himself then stopped as Chris's husband took off his glasses. Al rubbed his eyes in case he was dreaming.

"Bernie? BERNIE!!!" Al flew at him crying with joy. Bernie caught him and span him round. Al laughed and could not stop laughing. All his prayers had finally been answered.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**A/N What can I say? I love happy endings**


End file.
